New Japan Pro Wrestling is the second biggest wrestling promotion in the world and in the last couple of years, larger numbers of fans from all over the world have tuned into New Japan programming to check out the best alternative to WWE’s product out there.
Although WWE have tried to avoid mentioning New Japan Pro Wrestling on WWE programming whenever possible, what WWE don’t want to tell you is that a number of WWE legends have appeared in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
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Recently, there has been an influx of ex-New Japan stars in the WWE like Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles, Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson while some failed WWE wrestlers like Juice Robinson and Tonga Loa went to Japan to rebuild their careers.
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However, we’re not talking about these wrestlers on this list. We’re talking about bona fide future and current Hall of Famers.
5: The Undertaker
Yes, the man who plays the Undertaker – Mark Callaway, wrestled in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
The Undertaker is one of the most recognizable wrestlers in the history of the business and a surefire WWE Hall Of Famer. With a 26 year career in WWE, the Undertaker has done it all during his WWE career and is considered a living legend today. He also has one of the most famous streaks in professional wrestling which was only ended by Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 30.
Prior to becoming the ‘Phenom’, Taker had a fairly unsuccessful career in WCW where he was told by booker Ole Anderson that he’d never get over. Taker’s WCW run is quite well known today but fans may be unfamiliar with Undertaker’s solitary run in New Japan Pro Wrestling which only lasted one three-week long tour in March 1990.
Undertaker, under the moniker ‘Punisher’ Dice Morgan, teamed with the likes of Bam Bam Bigelow and even had an IWGP Tag-Team Championship shot while teaming up with Scott Hall.
4: Sting
Let’s start this slide with an interesting fact – both Sting and impostor Sting made appearances in New Japan Pro Wrestling – but let’s move on to focus on the real Stinger.
Sting made his NJPW debut at the WCW and NJPW promoted NJPW Starrcade 1991 losing to The Great Muta. He teamed with The Great Muta the following year at the 1992 version of NJPW Starrcade when they defeated the Steiner Brothers.
Sting continued to wrestle sporadically in New Japan Pro Wrestling till 1996 with his most notable moment coming when he lost the WCW United States Championship to Kensuke Sasaki in 1995.
3: Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan was a huge star in Japan long before he became a household name in the United States. Hogan first began appearing in NJPW in 1980 while he was still contracted to the WWF and was quickly nicknamed “Ichiban” (number one) by Japanese fans.
He toured Japan sporadically over the next 5 years using a more technical wrestling style than he did back home in the states and using a Crooked Arm Lariat as his finisher in the Land of the Rising Sun instead of his famous running leg drop.
Hogan faced a number of different opponents during his time in New Japan and even defeated Antonio Inoki by knockout in 1983 to win the first IWGP tournament. Hogan also tagged with Inoki during his time there, winning the MSN Tag-League two years in a row.
Hogan continued to appear in NJPW till 1985 until the WWF ended their relationship with New Japan but before the split happened, he even defended the WWF Championship against Antonio Inoki in a New Japan ring.
2: Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan was widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world when he signed for WWE in 2009 after his work on the independent scene with Ring Of Honor, Chikara and others.
What some WWE fans may not be aware of is that Daniel Bryan honed his craft by wrestling in Japan, like countless others before him. Wrestling under the moniker American Dragon, he reached the semi-finals of the 2004 Best Of Super Juniors and even won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships along with Curry Man (Christopher Daniels).
1: Brock Lesnar
Brock Lesnar left the WWE in 2004, 2 years into his initial run, to pursue his dream of becoming a pro football player. However, after failing to make the grade with the Minnesota Vikings, Lesnar eventually signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling and won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his debut match – a three-way bout with Masahiro Chono and Kazuyuki Fujita.
Lesnar continued to wrestle for New Japan till 2006 and during this time, headlined the 2006 Tokyo Dome show, successfully defending his title against Shinsuke Nakamura. However, Lesnar would leave New Japan shortly after due to payment issues and was stripped of the title. Following this, Brock moved onto his MMA career.
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